I had the privilege to sit down with Haley and write as she spoke to me about her life. The following blog is written from our time together. Haley’s story… Haley was born to Kathy and John David in 1995. When Haley was born, Haley’s parents owned a farm with her dad’s dad and her…

As each of us travel on our own grief journeys, then we all have different paths and coping mechanisms. Ever since my husband was killed in a work related accident in August 2011 and 22 months later when my only son was instantly killed in a car accident at the age of 18, it has…

Just a little over three weeks ago, a beautiful girl named Mikayla died at the age of 17. Mikayla was fiercely loved by her parents, family, and friends. She was very involved in FFA, 4H, and in the Vet Science program. She was a teen leader on the livestock team and participated in grassland judging.…

Do you know what helps you when you are grieving or in emotional pain? This is truly something that is important to know for those who are grieving and are in pain. The way that we seek or desire support and care in our grief will be different for all of us. Some of us…

5 Years Later… June 26th. The night before this heartbreaking day, MiKayla and I left to begin driving to our destination. We both worked Monday and then left shortly after we had gotten home. We wanted to drive as much of the trip the night before as we were able to because we had an…

Today should be PK’s 23rd birthday. Parents who have had a child die are quite comfortable with this word- should. Nothing is natural or expected about burying my child. Everything in me wishes and longs to still be with him. The loss of a child is heartache beyond words. I blogged before on grief and…

Before I start the story of what I experienced when we had a suicide in our family, I am going to begin this blog with a request. This has been a very painful and difficult journey for our family. As we have talked about before, we all grieve differently. Knowing this truth, I would like…

In grief, we miss those that we lost so much. Sometimes, during those painful times, we have the blessing of being able to connect with someone else who is going through similar pain. I want to share two examples of two women, Delores and Stephanie, who have become dear friends of mine through our shared…

On February 13th, I had the great honor of sitting down with the Cox family. Their sweet family came over to my house, and I sat with my laptop as they so lovingly invited me in to their family time. They shared about Brenten, his life, and about their precious family. It will be a…

This past Sunday afternoon, a beautiful 16 year old young lady named Hannah lost her life in a car accident. She lived in a community close to ours and in this past week, I have learned much about this young lady who was beautiful both inside and out. The text came through from one of…